Although its very small side intakes and revealing undercut are the most visually striking elements, a lot of detailed work has gone into bringing the whole thing together to meet the required cooling and aerodynamic needs.
It’s taken a lot of work to optimize the RB20’s efficiency throughout the early stages of the season, with an interesting update arriving for the Japanese Grand Prix that has more to offer than meets the eye at first glance. First on board.
Obviously, attention was immediately drawn to the arrival of a new air intake next to the rear lug of the halo (inset, left).
Even though the Red Bull version is small, it brings back some memories of what Benetton did in 1988 and the first half of 1989 with its B188.
Johnny Herbert, Benetton B188
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Although the RB20 intakes seem a bit out of the ordinary in the context of where we’re used to seeing teams place them, the overall intake system used by Red Bull in 2024 is very different from everything else on the grid.
As shown in Giorgio Piola’s drawing, we have the air intakes sandwiched between the rear halo leg and the cockpit edge in this region. They feed cool air to a smaller cooler mounted on the side of the saddle, next to the powertrain.
And, while the new intake undoubtedly assists the interior cooler, it appears these new intakes could play more of a role in helping move internal flow through the engine cover and sidepod bodywork.
This also makes sense, given that the sidepod’s upper horizontal inlet and front bodywork have been reconfigured, with the inlet being slightly smaller than the specification used in the first three races of the season (new layout, inset top right RIGHT).
Meanwhile, another vertical flow diverter has been added halfway across the side mirror slat (black arrow, inset) to help manage the flow over the upper surface of the sidepod, including where the new air intake.
Red Bull also once again demonstrated the versatility of the top cooling system, as the outlet on the side of the engine cover bulge was blocked off, just as was the case in Saudi Arabia, while the louvered panel located in the ravine above has been opened.
The segmentation of the different pontoon and engine cover panels allows for great modularity, allowing the team to be very selective in each race.
This means that what we see in Japan could be reconfigured again in the future, depending on the cooling and aerodynamic efficiency required.
Red Bull RB20 Edge Wing
Photo: Giorgio Piola
Red Bull also made changes to the floor and wing of the RB20 in Japan, as the team looked to increase performance in this area and its perimeter.
The modifications led to more local loading of the floor, with a more aggressive camber applied to the wing edge to ease it.
Meanwhile, on the tail section, there is now also an ax head-shaped fin protruding from where the tail section previously tapered to meet the ground (red arrow).
Although its very small side intakes and revealing undercut are the most visually striking elements, a lot of detailed work has gone into bringing the whole thing together to meet the required cooling and aerodynamic needs.
It’s taken a lot of work to optimize the RB20’s efficiency throughout the early stages of the season, with an interesting update arriving for the Japanese Grand Prix that has more to offer than meets the eye at first glance. First on board.
Obviously, attention was immediately drawn to the arrival of a new air intake next to the rear lug of the halo (inset, left).
Even though the Red Bull version is small, it brings back some memories of what Benetton did in 1988 and the first half of 1989 with its B188.
Johnny Herbert, Benetton B188
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Although the RB20 intakes seem a bit out of the ordinary in the context of where we’re used to seeing teams place them, the overall intake system used by Red Bull in 2024 is very different from everything else on the grid.
As shown in Giorgio Piola’s drawing, we have the air intakes sandwiched between the rear halo leg and the cockpit edge in this region. They feed cool air to a smaller cooler mounted on the side of the saddle, next to the powertrain.
And, while the new intake undoubtedly assists the interior cooler, it appears these new intakes could play more of a role in helping move internal flow through the engine cover and sidepod bodywork.
This also makes sense, given that the sidepod’s upper horizontal inlet and front bodywork have been reconfigured, with the inlet being slightly smaller than the specification used in the first three races of the season (new layout, inset top right RIGHT).
Meanwhile, another vertical flow diverter has been added halfway across the side mirror slat (black arrow, inset) to help manage the flow over the upper surface of the sidepod, including where the new air intake.
Red Bull also once again demonstrated the versatility of the top cooling system, as the outlet on the side of the engine cover bulge was blocked off, just as was the case in Saudi Arabia, while the louvered panel located in the ravine above has been opened.
The segmentation of the different pontoon and engine cover panels allows for great modularity, allowing the team to be very selective in each race.
This means that what we see in Japan could be reconfigured again in the future, depending on the cooling and aerodynamic efficiency required.
Red Bull RB20 Edge Wing
Photo: Giorgio Piola
Red Bull also made changes to the floor and wing of the RB20 in Japan, as the team looked to increase performance in this area and its perimeter.
The modifications led to more local loading of the floor, with a more aggressive camber applied to the wing edge to ease it.
Meanwhile, on the tail section, there is now also an ax head-shaped fin protruding from where the tail section previously tapered to meet the ground (red arrow).